


it's the humidity that gets you

by EmeraldSands



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I wrote this for me but y'all can read it if you want, I'm tempted to apologize for how much setting up it took me to get to the whump part, M/M, Sickfic, Whump, Whumptober 2020, but it's pretty cute so I figure it's fine, heat exhaustion, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:07:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27016249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldSands/pseuds/EmeraldSands
Summary: Drew takes Gary to visit his hometown, and it turns out Gary doesn't handle Hoenn's climate well. (For Whumptober 2020 day 14, prompt: "heat exhaustion")
Relationships: Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak/Shuu | Drew
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957423
Kudos: 12
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	it's the humidity that gets you

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still doing Whumptober things! The idea for this fic started with a tweet I made some time ago, and probably would've stayed a tweet had I not seen "heat exhaustion" on the Whumptober prompt list and immediately known what I wanted to do. So this exists now.
> 
> I have way too much firsthand experience with heat exhaustion--it's a little embarrassing, really, but at least now I've made use of it. I had fun writing this, weird as that is to say about a project that had me deliberately digging through my memories of a bunch of unpleasant experiences. It was interesting for me. I want to use fainting in my whump writing more often now.

“It’s… warm here.”

Drew gave Gary an amused look. “It’s summer and we’re in Hoenn, what were you expecting?”

“This, but it’s different actually  _ feeling _ it.” Gary tugged at his shirt collar, like he was uncomfortable in the heat—or just fixing it from when Drew had slept on his shoulder through half the flight from Sinnoh. “I’m used to Sinnoh, you know that.”

“Yeah, how could I forget you’re a weirdo who wears short sleeves in snow?”

Gary flashed a playful smirk at that. “Says the weirdo who’s wearing a turtleneck in the tropics.”

Okay, Drew had walked right into that one. “Fair.”

Gary laughed and took Drew’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “So, what’s Hoenn got to offer besides humidity and your cute face?”

“You like museums and we’ve got those,” Drew said, squeezing Gary’s hand in return. “There’s a pretty cool one in LaRousse, actually, if you wanna check that out while we’re in the area."

“Oh, you know I do,” Gary said, visibly perking up at the thought. “But why don’t we do a little sightseeing first?”

“Sure.” It’d be cute to see how Gary reacted to what Drew had grown up around—even if Drew felt stifled by high-tech city life, much more at home in the untamed nature he came across while traveling, he had a feeling somebody like Gary would appreciate it.

And appreciate it he did. As soon as he could take in the sight of the city, he exclaimed, “The robots and moving sidewalks are  _ real? _ ”

“Impressed?” Drew asked, warmed by his enthusiasm.

Gary nodded, still taking it all in. “I’ve been around, but I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie.”

“Of course you’d say that, nerd,” Drew teased.

“I was raised by Professor Oak, what else would you expect me to be?” Gary paused his childlike awe to flash a confident smile for his passport photo, then he turned that smile on Drew like he knew what it’d do to Drew’s heart. “Pretty good, huh? Let’s get a move on.”

* * *

Gary had really thought that stuff he’d heard about LaRousse City having moving sidewalks and robots everywhere was a joke, but there they were. The city was incredible, and he didn’t try to hide how impressed he was—he could tell Drew thought it was cute, and he’d do just about anything to get that soft, sappy look on his boyfriend’s face.

He always enjoyed attention, but Drew’s attention was something special—Drew was special to him. The euphoria of it and the unfamiliar humidity of Hoenn had him starting to feel dizzy, almost delirious.

Maybe Gary was really the sappy one between them.

Drew squeezed his hand to get his attention and pointed to a park. “How about a walk in the park?”

“Sure,” Gary replied. “The pokémon can join us for that, right?”

Yeah, of course.” Drew led Gary off the sidewalk. Those sidewalks had to be Gary’s favorite thing about the place—anything sparing a little exertion with this heat in a massive city was brilliant.

In the park, Drew let go of Gary’s hand to send his pokémon out, and Gary let out the two he had with him—Umbreon and Arcanine. Umbreon had known they were taking a trip, but flicked his ears in displeasure at feeling the heat and gave Gary an affronted look, while Arcanine was unbothered—not much bothered her in general, really. The two saw Drew’s absol and (Umbreon’s annoyance at the heat forgotten) immediately bounded off to play with their friend.

“Absol only ever seems to drop the serious act to play with them,” Drew remarked, watching fondly as their pokémon scattered to enjoy themselves.

“Like trainer, like pokémon, they say,” Gary teased. He rested an arm on Drew’s shoulder, like his boyfriend was a convenient shelf, and Drew shrugged him off to hold his hand again instead.

Drew didn’t deny it—they both knew they could stop taking themselves so seriously and act like the kids they were with each other, for once not having to worry about flawless stage personas or fighting to get respect from older colleagues.

It was nice, really, to have that kind of understanding despite all their differences.

Gary was startled out of his thoughts by fingers snapping in his face. “Hey, Gare, Gary, you with me?”

He thought Drew might’ve been looking at him with concern, but his vision was hazy. “You’ve been quiet and you’re looking pale, are you okay?” Considering how far away Drew’s voice sounded, and how Gary’s vision was getting dark around the edges, the answer was probably no.

Probably. Gary liked to think he was an optimist.

His legs gave way under him and the next thing he knew, Drew’s arms were around him. “Steady there, I’ve got you. Can you walk a little if you lean on me?”

He managed to get out a response vaguely resembling, “I can try.”

It felt less like walking and more like he was being half-carried, but he stumbled under Drew’s guidance until he was eased down with his back against a tree.

Drew knelt in front of him and pressed a cool hand against his cheek, then grabbed his wrist—checking his pulse? Was it that serious?

“Keep your head down and don’t try to move too much, I’ll be back in a minute.” Drew jumped to his feet, stroking Gary’s hair for a second before taking off.

Obediently and because he didn’t have much choice, he stayed put, only drawing up a knee to rest his head against it. He shut his eyes and tried to take deep breaths. He was starting to feel nauseous and he really needed to not be sick right now.

He was vaguely aware of two warm, furry bodies pressing up against him, one on each side. Two tongues, one big and wet and the other smaller and much rougher, licked the parts of his face and neck they could reach, his pokémon whimpering in concern.

“Give him some space, you two. I know you’re worried, but he’s already overheated and you’re gonna make him hotter.” Umbreon and Arcanine withdrew and he felt a water bottle being pushed into his hand. “Get your head up and drink this, okay, Gare? Small sips, can you do that?”

He raised his head, briefly meeting Drew’s worried eyes, and took a few cautious sips before closing his eyes, waiting for his nausea to settle.

“Gare?”

“M’fine,” Gary assured him.

Drew sighed, and even in his daze Gary could hear the exasperation in it. “You clearly aren’t.”

Gary looked at him and managed a weak smile. “You’re cute when you’re worried.”

Drew emptied a second water bottle onto Gary’s head. Gary hadn’t even realized he had that. “You need to cool your head, Gare. Get your priorities straight.”

“Excuse you, I’ve never done anything straight in my life.” Gary wiped water off of his face with his wrist, blinking. It had helped; he felt better than he had a minute ago.

Drew’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, are you delirious or is that just your bad sense of humor?”

“Hey, I’m hilarious,” Gary said. “You have no sense of humor.”

“You worry me.” Drew shook his head, the faintest ghost of a smile on his face. “Just be quiet and drink your water, we’re not leaving this spot until I’m sure you won’t pass out on me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Gary waved him off, but took a long drink to appease him. Then he softly said, “I love you.”

Judging by the look on Drew’s face, hearing that caught him off guard. His expression softened. “Yeah, I love you too.”

Even if Gary already knew, it felt good to hear it.

“Oh, and Gare?”

“Yeah?”

“You never get to give me a hard time about how I handle cold again.”

Gary flashed a sly grin. “I make no promises.”


End file.
